Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Lilian Rook     Lilian had promised a beach trip (highly irresponsibly) as part of the Secundus experience, but failed to actually encounter one anywhere along the line. Furthermore, by word getting around, the number of people ostensibly showing up had increased well beyond her control. Thus poor Lilian, dear sweet put-upon Lilian, though she would never so much as hurt a fly, has been forced by cruel and unjust fate for the sake of her friends to--

    Yeah she just kind of stole someone else's beach.

    It's actually the coastal beach of a large 'desert island', a short boat ride from the pioneer Warpgate (and the ruins of a shitty-looking cobblestone tower. Wonder what that's about) over the cerulean sea. Divination being what it is, Lilian has of course chosen a perfect day, with a bright blue sky barely troubled by fluffy white clouds, calm and cool winds that smell of sea salt, and the exact time and weather where the sun makes the golden sand toasty underfoot, of that kind that briefly almost too hot before fading to cozy fireplace warmth.

    Way down the coast, the dark shadow of another, bigger tower, looms incomprehensibly at the corner of the horizon. A few tiny islets linger a ways off shore, covered with random bits of construction from abandoned sheds to an entire small sandstone pyramid. Their spooky noises are inaudible from the beach, and the noises of the jungle are mostly drowned out by tropical birds.

    Thanks primarily to the expensive labour Lilian had enlisted from the craftspeople of a not-very-adjacent world, a narrow wedge of the tropical forest shy of the shore has been cut away for an honest to god beach bungalow to be built atop a sheer grassy rise. The stilts and catwalks, little stairs and center courtyard, long and wide halls with a handful of upfurnished bedrooms and a cozy lounge (of course with an expensive bar, television, big sofas, and games area) are reminiscent of a million dollar vacationing property, but everything outside the electronics and air conditioning (imported on Lilian's vast credit) has been sourced out of local wood and stone and textiles, worked and polished to a fabulous shine; even the glass is smelted from beach sand and glitters with prismatic imperfections.

    Not being an idiot moron beach host, Lilian has of course made certain of ample folding chairs, dream-soft blankets, and broad, shady umbrellas out on the sand, with multiple coolers of rather obnoxiously upscale alcohol (and fancy juice and ~glacier water~ for the rest). Beach balls, volleyball equipment, waveboards, and every other random piece of beachside detritus that popped into her head has been arranged in an attached storage unit with changing rooms for those not wanting to pop in and out of the bungalow, as if she had no idea what anyone actually does at a beach and sort of just went for everything. There's even a speedboat docked at a quaint little wooden moore.
Lilian Rook     Though there is an unattended grill and portable minibar kit outside for anyone who feels like showing off, the main source of refreshments is the bungalow kitchen, sizzling with collected and professionally frantic activity, courtesy of a nebulously thirty-ish woman with black hair (streaked just a little lavender) bound up in a messy bun, who apparently could not be convinced not to dress in a maid outfit, and clearly having the time of her life.

    It'll be a miracle if the grill sees any use today, given the abundance of expertly (quite literally professionally, actually, as in someone who cooks at the master level for money) prepared snacks featuring grilled and pan-seared platters, kebabs, bowls, and wood smoke trays, of locally caught seafood and picked tropical fruits combined with expensive beef and chicken and garden vegetables, alternately seasoned, marinated, glazed, and sauteed in sauces galore.

    There are a few signs Lilian invested her own personal touch, here and there. A faint series of recently constructed leylines run underneath the site, and tasteful ogham and runestone embellishments do things from keeping the bungalow cool to keeping the food hot to keeping aesthetic standup torches lit outside to keeping the bugs out (well, actually they just fry to death in mid-air about a hundred meters away). Lilian herself hasn't gotten beach dressed yet, but welcomes each arrival with directions to everything important, a gift basket (showoff), and the offer to stay the night if they really want.
Kale Hearthward "Jeeeeeeez..." says Kale, on arrival, lifting up his sunglasses. "You don't do things by halves, huh?"

He does a whirlwind tour of the setup, satisfying his curiosity, before returning to Lilian. "I brought a cask and dropped it off in the fridge in the kitchen," he says. "It's dwarven stuff - genuine."

"Though - pretty sure you could have gotten the whole brewery, for how... extensive this setup is," he says. "Did you really get all of this built *just* for the beach party?"

He seems more inclined to hang around and bug her instead of actually going off to enjoy it, though.
Alexis If one was expecting a specialist in fire to not be interested in a party near the water, boy are they mistaken. A party is a party! It doesn't matter if it's in the proximity of the polar opposite element... And Alexis isn't -that- keyed into the one specialty. Just that she probably didn't bring much in the way of actual Fire types with her directly.

Case in point as rather than Charizard or such it's the back of her Flygon that she arrives, landing near the designated bungalo. "Dang girl, you went all out and then some," remarks the Trainer and she hops down from the ride's back. She's wearing a hoodie like usual, but it's a bit oversized so it hangs lower than usual, covering up the swimsuit she's wearing underneath. Hey, flying at high altitude gets cold.

Mirage yawns, and promptly goes to curl up under one of the beach umbrellas for a shady nap after flying out here. The bugdragon is a desert dweller, a warm beach is still pretty comfortable for her.
Miyamomo     The lavish spread of snacks and obnoxiously coloured drinks see several return visits from a certain kitsune. Miyamomo is here in a pale pink bikini top and a matching sarong that shits dangerously low on her hips so as to let her tails roam free. Her plate becomes the base of great swaying towers of food, and yet nothing topples as she carries away one-handed, the other hand occupied with an enormous glass loaded with a rainbow of spirits.

    "Miss Rook!" She spots the host and runs over, continually moving the plate so as to keep its stack safe from the sand underfoot. "This is all truly wonderful~ A grand occasion, well suited to the celebration at hand." She smiles, showing a hint of teeth, before tilting her head.

    "What is it for, anyway? Are you finally betrothed, perhaps?"
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Attend the beach party

    You kidding? Arthur's already here! Albeit tough to spot under his beach umbrella. He's in a pair of trunks that are marked with the same white-on-black galactic whorls as his god-tier robes, because those ARE in fact another manifestation of his gof-tier robes. The only reason he doesn't have a sunburn with skin that pale is his natural resistance to cosmic radiation, but aside from that, he's enjoying the chance to relax.

    "BUNGALOWS don't GROW ON TREES, dawg. Well..." He thinks about it. "I mean, I guess this one kinda DOES. But WHATEVER, you wanna have a COOL RICH MEETUP, that means WORK I guess!" He also catches Miyamomo's insinuations. "YEAH LIL'," He laughs as he scrambles up to go get obnoxiously too close to the conversation and its conversants. "We gonna be CELEBRATING MISSUS AND MISSUS ROOK? You been buildin' those AFFECTION METERS, PLURAL, for real, homie! Let's see them PHASES MOVE." His dialogue portrait is slamming obnoxiously into the space above Lilian's, emotionally-speaking.
Persephone Kore      Persephone is here.

     Persephone is ruinously, disastrously here.

     Persephone is terribly, dreadfully, chiliastically present, wearing a tight one-piece swimsuit and a dumb little smile. Lilian had stridently warned agaisnt this, for unspoken but now-guessable reasons. Phony had not listened. She had not even conceived of why she maybe ought to listen. She's Normal. What objection could anyone possibly have?

     "Lily-R! This is amazing!" she says, doing a little jog over the hot sand as she gets close. With palpable disappointment: "I thought you'd be wearing a swimsuit too, you know. At least Miyamomo has the right idea." The kitsune gets a sunbeam of a smile directed at her as Phony takes her gift basket.

     Then, back to Lilian: "You really do collect them, don't you?"
Rhongomyniad     From out to sea, a vessel crests the horizon. Cruising low but not touching the water, it is a sleek-hulled white craft of elegant swoops and loops and golden filigrees, with distinctive outrigger arms. It glides on sails of light, projected to the front and sides as great teal-tinged wings. As it nears the water, the yacht turns slowly and descends until the smooth lower hull touches the water. The sails flicker out. Ever so gently, the vessel comes about and halts some thirty yards from shore.

    A figure on the front deck emerges, donned in a fetching white sunhat and wreathed in veils. They close a parasol, then quite suddenly spring forward and bound off the ship's bow, high into the sky. A heartbeat later, the goddess Rhongomyniad descends upon the beach proper, light as a feather and clad in a resplendent silver-white onepiece and mysterious heeled sandles. She opens her parasol once more, cradling it upon one shoulder.

    It is a fine day and the Lion King (Summer) has arrived.
Cantio Even considering how quickly things worked in Secundus, Cantio still finds herself surprised by the sight of the beachhouse that's been built within... It had to have been less than a week since the idea was thrown around. She's still exercising some small level of caution while exploring the outside of the tropical mansion, but more along the lines of watching for aggressive wildlife rather than for anyone she might actually meet here.

It probably has something to do with the wheeled cooler she's dragging behind her. It's purple and white with a lot of music-ish decorations on it, of course, although the sight of so many prepared foodstuffs gives her some small relief in how any of her own prep might not be necessary.

"I want to say I'm surprised at how this all looks, but... Er. Is it good or bad that I'm not?" Cantio asks Lilian with a slightly awkward chuckle, looking just a bit out of her element considering that she's already dressed in her own beachwear: A very pink combination with a matching skirt and raised sandals that definitely aren't there to try and equalize the height difference between her and everyone else that might be coming.

"But... Anyway. Thanks for setting this up for us. I brought meat from the base if anyone wants to try that, although..." She's totally looking at the prepared food already. She doesn't seem too interested in her own meats.
Tamamo     There is nothing to stop Tamamo from wearing a bikini. Not even the need to find a changing room, considering her convenient power of transformation -- a power that appears rather useless for everything but wardrobe functions, considering it never hides her tails. Not just a bikini, but a wide, beribboned beach hat, a necklace of sea shells she must have made at some point, and an already inflated swim ring, its blue and burnt-orange colors matching her swimsuit, are already present in-between Lilian seeing her one minute and looking again, the next.

    She's probably interested in doing something with that giant beach ball, considering its presence near her chair. Instead, she's tanning -- wait, no, she's not. It is impossible for the Sun to tan Tamamo. How unfortunate. There must not be much point in her laying out on that beach chair, after all.

    But it does make for a very convenient point from which to watch other people, without anything particularly distracting her. She can even watch people behind her, using her mirror.
Hibiki Tachibana     Where there is fun in the sun, two people will be there, no matter what.

    Actually, Hibiki has both 'for business' and 'for pleasure' beach visits lined up - funnily enough, it's the same coastline just with a different host - and this happens to fall under the latter. It's incredibly obvious to anyone who even slightly knows her by the fact she's attending with one Miku Kohinata, who likely wouldn't let her even think about going to another party without her. Rightfully so, too.

    While Miku has come in a violet bikini-and-sarong combo topped off with a wide sunhat, Hibiki has a thin, worn-open summer jacket thrown over her own swimswear. On the way in, she can't help but have her eyes wander off towards the King of Knight's yacht cruising in until her plus-one taps her on the shoulder with a smile and nudges her Lilian-ward.

    At which point she clears her throat and leads the way over, raising a hand up to wave at their host. "Talk about going the whole mile. The place looks great--and yeah, what Cantio said. I wasn't even part of the whole Secundus stuff, but this is one intro. You /are/ planning on getting in some relaxation time yourself, right?" She looks Lilian over once.

    Yep. Persephone has a point. No beachwear in sight.

    
Lilian Rook     Lilian smiles just slightly sarcastically to Kale, Alexis, and Hibiki asking the obvious. "Eighth Code. Thou shalt use the fullest of thy competence at all times, and thou shalt demand the fullest. Thou shalt not accept substitutes, imitations, or shortcuts, from thyself or any other." A beat of silence. "What, did you think I stopped caring about those just because I started hiding a little less? Of course I did, though I hope to keep it after as a nice little getaway place if possible. It'll be good to have somewhere to host these whenever I feel like." A smug little grin follows. "And it's halfway on Wiremu's doorstep, so I had to completely outdo her in every respect to rub it in, right? Thank you for the gift. For once, it's in quite good taste." She waves vaguely. "In a minute, Tachibana." She glances over her shoulder. "You two look good together." says Lilian, a little distantly (forlornly?) without elaborating.

    When Miyamomo saunters up, Lilian glances up and down, goes to bite a fingernail, and then stops dead when she realizes she's chomping on leather glove. "Ahaha, no, nothing like that!" she laughs, when cornered by her and Arthur. "Of course it means work! And when that happens, it'll be much nicer than this." she mumbles a little, then firmly rebukes the latter with "If you talk about 'quadrants' even once though I'm going to punt you into the ocean. Got it?". Back to Miyamomo. "Ah, but please pace yourself. I really wanted to hire on a staff for this, but Cecilia insisted on doing it all herself once I mentioned some friends would be here. She's only one woman, so let her get ahead for the rest, okay?"

    Even taking Cantio's arrival in stride, Lilian replies "No, that's ordinary. You should try saying something like 'as expected of Dame Commander Rook' you know. Isn't perfectionist overkill my calling card?" She waves a hand. "I'm sure Cecilia will find something to do with it. But I'd like her to have time to enjoy the beach too, you know. Even if she's terribly passionate about cooking." The jungle is perhaps not terribly advisable to explore as a relaxation activity. Going far enough, it starts to get dark, and red eyes gleam in the black. Clattering, hisses, and weird gurgles sound out from far in. Something very large patrols around the tower.

    Lilian pouts just a little bit at the genuine ship pulling in. "Even if she is a king, she could at least try showing off a little less." She's still staring, until Persephone shows up. Then she sucks in a lot of air, makes a Dread Noise, and uneasily laughs back. "I just haven't gotten changed yet. That's all. It felt a bit weird. Overenthusiastic, maybe? I'll go and get my swimsuit on in a moment. I just had to greet everyone, you know? Excuse me."

    Lilian, true to her word, disappears back inside (just walking, no disappearing). Shortly after, the woman who had insisted wearing a maid dress (like, an actual one), whom Lilian had named Cecilia, hustles out down the steps (clomping a little; nice boots) doublehand carrying full platters of replacements for everything Miyamomo had heaped up, and a bottle under each arm, elegantly swooping out over to the glass table out on the beach that curves out an unlit gravel firepit and laying everything out at lightning speed.

    "Oh my! Look at you all! I never expected-- No, I'm so happy to see that Lilian has so many wonderful friends these days! Please, make yourselves at home, and if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to give us a shout!" She's maybe not fully filled in on the relationship Lilian has with some of these people. But she's very nice! And sort of talks like a charming English lady from the nineteen fifties.
Candy      Candy's arrival on the beach is heralded by the familiar buzzing of his often outdated motorcycle. He's got a tin cooler haphazardly balanced across the vanishingly sparse expanse of seat available behind him, held to his shoulders with straps. He hurriedly sheds the cooler, which appears to have been sufficiently cold to pierce the overalls he's wearing. Beneath them, the upper half of a black one piece swimsuit is visible, perhaps a size too small, and quite possibly deliberately so, knowing Candy.

     He wheels around and looks at the bike, after setting the cooler down, realizing with irritation that something is missing.

     An instant later, his position hasn't changed, but there is the sudden appearance of an umbrella and two chairs that clearly fell off the back of the bike--if the snapped tethers dangling from the rear fender, and the scrape marks on the furnishings themselves are any indication. He does manage to set them up with a sigh, only to notice the bungalow. "Oh, shit, look at that!" And the ample supplies Lilian's already brought. Not willing to subject anyone else to busted-ass furniture, Candy dismisses his damaged stuff, and leaves the cooler with some of Lilian's.

     "What's the matter with showing off, ah?" He also sheds the overalls, revealing the rest of the near-backless black one-piece, and confirming that it's probably a size too small once he steps fully out.
Rhongomyniad     "My Ehangwen is scarcely 'showing off', Lilian Rook," the Lion King responds in that same eternally calm monotone of hers, "I have no intention of supplanting what you have done here in preparation for these events." Raising her free hand, she gestures, "Simply consider its presence an accompaniment to such carefully beautified scenery." She collects herself a dainty glass and a selection of chilled wine for it while Lilian and Cecilia trade places, to which she acknowledges.

    "Thank you, Cecilia, for your efforts. I understand you have contributed greatly to today's events."
Kale Hearthward "(For once?)"

Kale decides to worry about that later.

"Oh-" Persephone aggros on him via radio. Kale puts on a brave face. "I'm looking forward to it," he tells her. "Especially - if you're going in *that* confidently," he adds, putting on a touch of verbal swagger. "Don't worry, I'll go gentle on you when I'm correcting your mis-steps."

With light conversation made (and gauntlets thrown) he goes to change, emerging in a simple pair of swimsuit shorts, albeit in carefully chosen red and purple shades that complement his plumage. "Alright! let's hit the beach!" He heads that way, going to grab a board on the way down, and dives in to start paddling out a ways.
Alexis Alexis laughs in response to Lillian's rebuttal. "It may sound stuffy but that's not a bad attitude to have. Just means we all have to do our best to enjoy it!" Playful smirking follows. "So I guess I should change into something more comfortable, huh?"

Cue the grabbing, removing and discarding of the hoodie she had been wearing, revealing the halter top style bikini worn underneath colored in her usual fiery orange and reds. The hoodie and her usual Backpack of Holding (not really but Trainers are -really good- at loading stuff in their bags) are left near where Mirage is already napping.

And here comes Cecilia to restock the snack provisions. Alexis does eye the grill for a moment, but then shrugs. No point in firing it up when there's already a rediculously wide spread of eatings. She helps herself to various, and a proper fruity umbrella laden beach drink. "Not that enjoying this setup should be hard."
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Build a cool sandcastle, maybe

    Yeah, sounds good. Arthur gets back to his old project, a disturbingly powerfully built sandcastle that's sitting near the tides. Sure, he's no Rhongo, but he can build a damn good little sand-house that grows startlingly taller with each moment he spends slamming wet sand onto it with too much force.

    He takes another chance to hassle Lilian a lot. "DAMN," He says, eyerbwos up. "We decided SHOWING OFF LESS is the right way?" He glances meaningfully to the bungalow. But there she goes, off to change.

    And Cecilia is here now! He snatches some of his own food, eating it with obnoxious enthusiasm. "WHAT'S GOOD, C? Hell yeah, you see her OUT THERE KICKING ASS? She got HELLA FRIENDS and GIRLFRIENDS and stuff, FOR REAL. Hear they're JAZZED AS HELL about gettin' to see BEACH LIL'." A glance to Tamamo, to Persephone, to other interested parties... "METERS MOMENT." He rambles.
Cantio Miyamomo is an unfamiliar face, but her pile of food and her giant glass has Cantio watching her closely. It's not out of suspicion, though, but a great deal of worry thanks to said swaying tower of food. It's not until Miyamomo comes to a stop that Cantio finally breathes a sigh of relief, then gets another hitch in her throat at the mention of Lilian getting married. Arthur adds more fuel to the fire, and Cantio needs a moment to breathe even as she takes one of those gift baskets with a bit of a daze on her face.

"Is that the...? Oh! Congratulations! I didn't have anything quite prepared for that, but if you need-" She stops once Lilian clears up that misunderstanding, but still looks mildly dumbstruck when she sees Lilian laughing. "Aw, well. When it ever happens, the offer still stands."

She never actually said what the offer was, but continues anyway. "Ah, right. I wouldn't expect anything less from the esteemed Dame Commander Rook, of course." Cantio even manages to giggle lightly at that, looking over at where Cecilia may or may not be working at the mention of the maid. ".. But it's good to see you relaxing. And don't worry. I won't make any more work for her." There's a genuine smile there, and then it shifts subtly to a more confident one. "Once the coast is clear, I'll give cooking up this stuff a shot myself. I carved it just this morning!"

A bigass yacht arrives, and Cantio finds herself staring at Rhongomyniad as she steps off that vessel. There's definitely an element of defeat in that look, although it's not clear why based on her staring alone. Tamamo, too, gets that same look once Cantio notices her lounging way over there, although...

Isn't it hard to tell heights that way? She might be looking somewhere else.

Hibiki's (and Miku's) arrival help somewhat, though, as Cantio remembers to relax again. "Hey, Hibiki! Hi, Miku! Oh, you should definitely check it out next time. Even if you're not into land management, there's so much stuff to see that it's just... There's just so many opportunities, you know?" She practically beams just thinking about it, and she takes a moment to see if she's taller than either of them even with her raised sandals.

She probably isn't.

Cecilia comes out greeting everyone, and Cantio quickly kicks her meat cooler behind herself while raising her hand in a broad wave in greeting as well. "Thanks for having us, Miss Cecilia! I hope you're enjoying yourself out here, too. We can't be the only ones relaxing, after all."
Persephone Kore      "What's wrong, Lily-R?" Phony taps her cheek in visible concern. Part of 'what's wrong' may be the fact that her one-piece has, pointlessly and stupidly, a prominent 'keyhole'. But that isn't the majority of it. "I didn't startle you, did I? Haha, I'm sorry~ But I'm really glad you've decided to be brave and wear your own."

     She gives Tamamo an innocent little wave afterwards, seeming to just now notice her and just as quickly forget. Whatever that mirror reflects, she's oblivious to it.

     "Glad you could make it, Candy! Love the backless design," Phony says with a casual warmth. "I should've thought of that." It's the single and only area where hers can be said to be more modest than his. Everything else is as bad or worse.

     "I'm sure you'll have a lot to teach me," she replies to Kale, stopping in her meandering towards the bungalow just to pat him on the head. The words are sincere; the pats are condescending. "I really don't know anything about strategy or organizing! And you're practically a veteran, right?" But in her eager tone, there is an unspoken "And yet~"

     She's only halfway to getting drinks when she's interrupted again by- "Cecilia!!" She greets the maid with just as much enthusiasm as she'd greeted Lilian, walking over briskly in what amounts to a run by Persephone's standards. "How have you been? Haha, wait, no, that's a silly question. But the triplets wanted to know! They really do love you a lot, you know."

     She nods along sagely to Arthur's description, but clarifies: "Girl   friends."
Alexis Alexis glances over from her munching on snacks and drinking fruity beach drinks. "Yeah. Plenty of friends that are also girls. Context is important."
Tamamo     It's Miku's arrival that gets the most visible reaction from Tamamo, for the very reasonable reason that they've never met. Soon enough, she puts her feet back onto the sand -- or rather, she steps on the sand in outrageously high-platform sandals, almost as if she was intentionally punishing Cantio's fragile self-esteem -- and makes her way back over. Her mirror follows her, slowly turning in the air. Usually, that artifact is only manifested when Tamamo's doing something particularly grand and magical, or when she feels the need to violently strike someone. Why it could be following her, right now, is a mystery.

    "Would this be the one you mentioned, Tachibana-san?" Thinking back, her and Hibiki have run into each other, in person, surprisingly often, for not being involved in many of the same activities. Was Featherman Neo's recklessly driven van the last place of meeting? "I am Tamamo-no-mae. It is a pleasure to meet you."

    At the mention of Secundus, she puts a finger to her chin, tilting her head to think. "Hm... it is a rather strange business. For one interested in exploring many worlds, I suppose it is quite a convenient one, as well. Oh, but there was quite a bit of fighting, too."
Lilian Rook     Just before leaving, Lilian spares enough time to smile a guilty smile fro Miyamomo. "You're right. I'm surprised you could tell. Or maybe I should assume anyone can tell? But please don't just call her 'my servant'. She basically raised me you know."

    After Lilian has re-entered the house, it is Cecilia time, pouring out another twenty four drinks of various kinds and laying out freshly sizzle-glistening platters on the prescribed runespots. "Oh hello there Mister Lowell! It's especially a pleasure to meet you as well!" Cecilia claps her hands together adoringly after she finishes offloading the platter. "Oh that's a lovely sandcastle! Where did you learn to do that?" She . . . she really honest to god believes he's like fifteen. Not even in a condescending way. In a 'if your mom isn't here then I'm your mom' way.

    "Oh! And Mister Estevez! Miss Kore! Wonderful to see you again!" Cecilia adds, while Lilian isn't in earshot (weird that she'd feel confident about that), of course already having greeted Tamamo a while ago." "Oh my. It seems even in the Multiverse, swimwear trends really have changed with with the times. I suppose I must need more trips outdoors to catch up in some ways." It really isn't clear if she's prompted to say that by Candy or Persephone. Or both.

    "Better than ever of course! Or at least, better than in a very long time. I do hope they're doing well! Lilian spoke a little of returning sometime soon." Arthur and Phony both hammer the same angle. "Hmm? Girlfriends?" A side-eye. "I was quite sure Lilian is rather committed at the moment."

    A polite little blush and maidenly bow follows at Rhongomyniad's praise. "Oh heavens, I've only chipped in where I can. Lilian did her little backhanded way of implicitly inviting me and I just had to meet her friends! It's an honour to meet you . . . do you prefer King? Or do you feel like more of a Lady now?" The lady who sounds like she's from 1950s England is basically just innocently asking Rhongomyniad's pronouns at this point.

    "Oh of course I'm having a grand time!" she says to Cantio. "It's been an age since I've gotten to cook for so many! I'd feared my skills were going to seed! Especially with Lilian's proclivity for eating away from home these days. She never used to you know. She won't eat anywhere alone-- Oh, pardon me, perhaps I shouldn't speak so much while she isn't around."
Miyamomo     The look on Miyamomo's face is one of 'I don't get it' as people try to explain. Something about experiments? But, the end result is good food and drink, so she'll take it. Giving her tray a little shake, she causes some shrimp to plummet and catches them in her mouth in a series of extremely fast bites. "Do not undermine her Miss Rook," she says, suddenly serious. "I can see and feel the care your servant has put into everything. It is infused with joy for you, pride in you. She does not suffer in this labour."

    She then bites the straw in her drink, pulls it out, spits it away and begins chugging it, annihilating the entire vibe in a single go. As Cecilia comes over, she suddenly tosses plate and glass both high into the air to grab her by the hand with both of hers and shake it firmly. "Your master is a wonderful woman, so it makes sense that her servant is equally wonderful. Please accept my dearest thanks for the work you've put into this."

    And then the fall begins. Miyamomo catches the plate and then becomes a blur, reconstructing her tower via catching the falling food upon it in sequential order. A single meat skewer seems to escape her notice, but she suddenly catches it between her big and second toe, bringing it around to her mouth in a great display of flexibility and pulling all the meat off with her teeth in a single pull.

    Glass drained and set aside, she wanders towards the various 'beach things', eventually stopping at the volleyball setup. Setting her plate down (though her eyes flick towards it every five seconds) she picks up the ball and calls out. "Someone teach me how to play this. I'd love a match~"
Hibiki Tachibana     "Good." Hibiki replies very simply to Lilian's bit of sarcasm there and confirmation of swimsuit-dom with a small smile, and while the slight shift in her tone there doesn't go unnoticed, she doesn't bring it up either. She does, however, take the chance to take a second to bask in just how many people have showed up. There's even a few people she's not super familiar with here...

    If she's not careful, Miyamomo is going to get everything she was going to get. Danger is on the horizon. Candy's arrival gets her to turn back towards him though, and raise an eyebrow at his choice in swimsuit. "Uh...showing off like that seems a little..." She's swiftly cut off by Miku walking past, grabbing her by the shoulders, and turning her in Cantio's direction in one smooth motion.

    "Hello, Cantio! It's been a bit, hasn't it? Good to see you again! If you want help cooking when you do, I'll be happy to lend a hand." Hibiki blinks, though she can't help another grin at Cantio's enthusiasm. "Yeah, I think I will. I was sorta working something out along those lines not that long ago. Handling like...territories and stuff is a little beyond me, just thinking about it makes my head hurt a little, but still. You're really into it, huh? Though I guess you do got a bit of experience with this sort of thing."

    Almost there, Cantio. Almost.

    Tamamo (quite tall) gets their attention after that, leading Hibiki to look surprised briefly. "Ah...yeah." It sure was the last time they saw each other in person, come to think of it. That's more than a little awkward to think back on, though it's not the reason she looks uncharacteristically flustered for a moment. "This is--"

    "Kohinata Miku! It's nice to finally meet you, too. Hibiki has told me a bit! Good things, other than her getting herself in trouble." She giggles, at Hibiki's expense, before glancing off towards where Lilian disappeared to in order to change. "She really went above and beyond setting all of this up, didn't she?"
Alexis Oh someone actually wants to play volleyball?

Alexis gulps down the end of her drink, finishes off her snacks, and after setting the dishware aside strides over to the volleyball setup and Miyamomo. "You wanna learn how to play beach volleyball, huh?" She dips her toes under the ball to scoop it off the sand and flick it into the air for her to grab. "I'll show ya a few things. It's not all that hard to play." Mastering is another matter, but that's besides the point.
Rhongomyniad     "Mm," Rhongomyniad mulls over Cecilia's question for a moment while giving her wine's bouquet a sniff with closed eyes, "Whether I bear the mantle of man or woman, I am always King. Such matters are far disconnected from physical appearances in this modern age and so I am no longer concerned by it. I am and shall always be the King of Knights, even after I had become a goddess." The barest hint of a smile crosses her face just then, "My thanks for your consideration, although I do wear many titles. You are ultimately free to use whichever you decide; I am unbothered by such things."

    She does turn about, enough to glance over her shoulder (and under the brim of her parasol) towards Tamamo, "I agree. The matter of so many myriad worlds in quick succession was a matter of significant curiosity. Although I avoided a good deal of the fighting in favor of exploration, it was ever at the forefront of my concerns."
Kale Hearthward Kale surfs back in, and looks over at the volleyball court as he arrives back on the beach.

"Hey," he calls, heading that way. "Trying to get a game going?"

He sets the board at the side of the court, and goes to join Alexis and Miyamomo. "Is it anything like tennis?" he asks.
Cantio "It's good seeing you both again, too! Ah, it's been a while since I really cooked anything on my own, so I might have to take you up on that." Cantio admits to Miku with a largely unconcerned smile, then holds a hand up and wiggles it noncommittally at Hibiki's guess. "Sort of. I'm used to handling that stuff back home, so it's not too different here. Just... Way faster, you know? A little too fast to really make good use of everything."

Persephone brings up Candy's outfit, and it's only then that Cantio thinks to look over. She goes wide-yed at first, then looks between the both of them as if trying to figure out where she should or shouldn't be looking at either of them. "I-I don't know if that would... I mean... It's not like there's any..."

She's getting flustered, and words are becoming harder to work through in her head. Thankfully, Tamamo's come to the rescue! By... Standing upright and revealing that she is definitely taller than Cantio. "I remember seeing you on that list, too. I'll be looking forward to seeing how everything pans out next time once everyone's on the same page again."

It sounds like it might be a vague threat, but it's actually genuine. "If you and Phony and everyone else is going to be getting in on that sooner, then... I'll have a lot of places to check out." She pauses, then looks over at Persephone. "Oh! Phony, have you two met?"

Cecilia reminds Cantio that there's plenty of food to try, and she laughs again while shaking her head. "Oh, everything looks amazing out here. It'd take most of my staff to be able to prepare this much, never mind doing it alone. And home cooked meals are always the best after a long time away." She strokes her chin briefly. "Come to think of it... Did you build all this, too?"

Cantio looks like she wouldn't be surprised if Cecilia actually says she did.
Tamamo     'Hmm? Girlfriends?'
    "Oh, she is only being rather cheeky," Tamamo says, for Cecilia's benefit. "Though the reverse tends to be the more notable, in stories and elsewhere, some are no older than they appear, but even younger."

    She hasn't once looked at Persephone.

    'Someone teach me how to play this. I'd love a match~'
    "Oh, certainly, in a moment!" It's entirely possible that someone else will get to Miyamomo before Tamamo does.

    'Good things, other than her getting herself in trouble.'
    "Oh, and glad am I to hear this. She has spoken but little, but what I have heard suggests you have taken quite good, close care of her." It wasn't always what she'd said, directly, so much as the words around it. Tamamo's gotten that impression, at least, and seems pleased by it. And just a little 'teasing at Hibiki's expense.'

    'She really went above and beyond setting all of this up, didn't she?'
    Tamamo smiles, not quite giggling. "She did say, did she not? To always do her utmost is a natural course, for her. Something rather smaller would have served, and yet... there is satisfaction in having put in effort for others, as well, is there not? So long as it is an effort that can be seen as 'good.'"
Miyamomo     "Ah, you're very kind, thank you~" Miyamomo says to Alexis, politely applauding as she kicks the ball into the air to grab. "Is that part of the rules? The ball can only be handled by kicking it up? I can certainly do that~"

    "I don't know what tennis is either, so I couldn't say~" she says to Kale. As she awaits an explanation of the rules, she sometimes vanishes from her spot for a blink, reappearing with food in her hand. That stacked plate is getting smaller and smaller.
Persephone Kore      "No, you've got it all wrong," Phony insists to the others. "You're supposed to say it like-"

"Girl                                                                  friends!"

    "It's completely different, you know! 'Gal pals'. 'Besties'. Nothing to do with being taken." The following comment about swimsuits seems to earnestly catch her off-guard: "Oh, really? I thought mine was kind of modest and traditional. Haha, maybe I should be relieved to hear I'm not as much of a stick-in-the-mud as I thought." Yes, that's something like the problem.

     "We've met!" she reassures Cantio with a brilliant little smile. Completely guilelessly: "Tamamo is really amazing, isn't she? I think it's great how good she's been for Lily. They really wouldn't be the same apart." Good sense would demand that, with Tamamo not looking at her, Persephone should likewise avoid looking at Tamamo. Unfortunately Phony is an idiot, and acknowledges Tamamo with a beatifically radiant smile immediately afterwards.

     She takes a probably-too-strong drink for herself and sips it thoughtfully as the conversation meanders on around her. "Let's see. I meant to get Lily-R to teach me how to swim. And..."

     "Oh, right! Cecilia! The triplets had their gift for you, but I had one for you too. It'll take just a minute, so tell me when it's a good time for you, alright?"
Tamamo     'Although I avoided a good deal of the fighting in favor of exploration, it was ever at the forefront of my concerns.'

    'I'll be looking forward to seeing how everything pans out next time once everyone's on the same page again.'


    Thinking again about matters of Secundus (and other areas of it than this one, in particular), Tamamo says, "It seems necessary that conflict shall occur as much as cooperation and collaboration, in some ways, if only for that each area can have but one 'in charge,' as it were, and in the event of any disagreement on this point, fighting shall occur. Though this appears, on the surface, to be a normal mode upon any world, it is not quite so, for the exchange of rulership, and thereby the possibility of shared responsibilities, is either limited or destructive of many efforts."

    She pauses. "Why this should be, I know not, for I have never ruled, as such, a kingdom in my own name."
Lilian Rook     Lilian returns, as promised (she doesn't break those, except when she was lying in the first place) not long after, but just long enough to be suspicious for someone who can do anything she wants in no time at all.

    Lilian is in the bedroom she's claimed as her own in the bungalow. The swimsuit she'd ordered is laid out on her bed, and she can do nothing more than stare at it. She'd had all the time in the world leading up to this, and at the eleventh hour, she still can't make the call. Courage is so rarely something ever in short supply for her, she feels at a loss for what to do next. Had she really hoped she could just glide on by?

    'and so . . . do not think . . . yourself unworthy of me.'

    'You've never lied to anyone, Lilian. Not in your entire life.'

    'You told me no lies. My position is correct and just, whatever others may think of it.'

    'I can see 'Lilian Rook' in it. Can't you?'

    'Lilian, please tell me. What is... your dream?'


    Lilian sighs. She peels off the single glove she's wearing, removes those uncharacteristic stockings, and starts looking around the bathroom for remover and contact solution. "There's no point in trying to be a little girl now of all times." she murmurs to herself.


    She comes back out clad in what was no doubt a ridiculously expensive two-piece, ordered from a catalogue you need a subscription to something else to be eligible to subscribe to the service to buy the preview pages. A crossed halter top and harness cut bottoms in black slashed with with threaded gold match the glossy black pendant of Night Mist's concealed form around her throat, the six inch black gunmetal cylinder of her folded wand strapped to one thigh, and whatever the hell is going on with her body.

    Stockings removed, her left leg below the knee smoothly fades from fair to midnight black, seeming solid and insubstantial at the same time, like the inside of dark room in the shape of a slender calf, wherein dusty gold lines glint in the light, like thin cracks caused by rippled water. Glove removed, her right hand is the same from the figertips halfway down to the wrist. Makeup removed from her scar, the texture of gold dust slashes across her nose and under one eye, bleeding a little into the iris. She aloofly menaces with Normality.

    Lilian struts down the steps, picks up the nearest dew-dappled glass of hard beverage, holds up a 'don't interrupt me' finger, slams it all back in one go, and then she beelines to grab Tamamo around the waist and firmly assert her place on the beach, taking refuge in menacing audacity. "You'd best all be getting along. I mean it." she huffs, face just slightly red.
Lilian Rook     Cecilia absorbs Rhongomyniad's explanation studiously and earnestly. "Very well! Then it's an honour to meet you, King Rhongomyniad!" Oh, she can do Welsh. "Especially an ancient king of where I live, haha! Those stories are the dream of little girls and boys all over, so I suppose that's only fair!" She turns to finish laying out drink arrangements, and murmurs to herself an utterly effortless "They seem so nice for a King."

    "Ahaha, don't worry about it dear! I'm an old hand at this. You don't get my sort of experience in just one lifetime you know." Cecilia giggles good-naturedly to Cantio. A positively radiant smile is given to Tamamo, hands clasped together. "Oh good! I'm so happy to hear that! Of course I knew it couldn't be anything but." A little sage nod follows. "That girl really is so set on working the hardest she can on every little thing while trying to make it look as easy as possible. She's the sort who pretends she was never trying if she gets second place, haha~"

    She blinks in surprise to Phony. "Another gift? Oh my, but I haven't gotten you anything. Are you certain that's . . . ohhh, but I couldn't keep taking from you." She frets. "Once I've finished with the platters, then. And the skewers. Oh and the roast. Shan't be long!"

    When Lilian exits, Cecilia gets halfway to a little clapping motion, then smoothly turns it into clearing her throat instead, apparently remembering that Lilian is not twelve anymore (actually, sort of literally that, given a mind reader or two).
Alexis Alexis raises a brow at Kale's query. ".... Well in the sense that you're going back and forth over a net and trying to get your opponent to miss, yeah, kind of. No rackets though. Just your hands and arms." She pauses a moment to consider. "You know, it's probably easier to just demonstrate." She turns her head in the direction of her napping Flygon and bag. "HEY HURRI, BEACH VOLLEYBALL!" One of the pokeballs on her pack clicks open and expels a crackle of energy that manifests into a sort of birdman in a mask and the feathers on his back and arm/wings forming a cape ( https://www.pinterest.com/pin/50172983325175147/ ) who darts over to Alexis' side. "Yeah, you're short but agile, perfect." Alexis flicks him the ball. "Go to the other side and serve it to me." Ball caught, a salute with one hand, and Hurricanrana dashes over to the other end of the court. "Haw!" He tosses the volleyball up, then slams it with one hand as it comes back down to launch it over the net.

Alexis squats down in a reciever stance, hands clasped together. She sidesteps quickly a few paces to get into position and thumps the ball with her hands to knock it back over the net.

They go back and forth a few times, until the Hawlucha demonstrates his agility despite his size to leap up and spike the ball hard! Alexis dives for it, and even manages to get under the ball to hit it, but can't control the direction and it flies outside the court bounds. "Oof. Good hit, Hurri." She gets onto a knee and shakes off some sand. "And that's the crash course on how you play volleyball."
Hibiki Tachibana     "You two..." Hibiki brings a hand up to her mouth to stifle a groan while glancing away from both Tamamo and Miku. This absolutely counts as ganging up on her. "Always do her utmost..." She trails off at that, before Miku nods. "Almost reminds me of someone." There's another giggle, almost to make up for Tamamo not.

    "It's still a little surreal, with how things were before. I had never met her back then either, but now...look at everyone here, having fun at a beach party together. She's very, very lucky to have you and everyone else, Miss Tamamo."

    After recovering, Hibiki straightens up a bit to put some thought to the Secundus talk. "People are definitely gonna be fighting each other for territory, huh...yeah, I'm not surprised. I'm not sure how up for that I'll be, but...well, we'll just see. It sounds like there's a lot of amazing stuff that can't be passed up on here. And--"

    She's about to add on something else, but trails off when she sees Lilian make her reappearance. It's not often that she's rendered totally speechless - at least for this particular reason - but she is the entire time that she watches her strut down, grab Tamamo, and metaphorically put her foot down. Her mouth finally closes, but her eyebrows stay risen. "...Okay. I take it back. You got yourself more than ready. That's..."

    She exhales, then puts on a lot more of a relaxed smile--maybe because of seeing that embarrassment. "I think we're all fine. It's only been a couple minutes, but I think everyone's enjoying themselves a lot."

    Miku, helpfully, nods from behind her. Her point has been made.
Cantio "Just one...? Huh." Cantio nods slowly as though she understands Cecilia completely, but the look on her face is that of someone who's probably got it all wrong. "Hm.. That does definitely sound like her, though. It's one of the things I've admired for a while, actually. To... Er." She pauses, then lowers her voice. "Don't tell her I said that."

She probably already knows, anyway.

With food on the mind, Cantio doesn't procrastinate any further. She loads up just the one plate for now, and she also gets a similarly large glass of the high end stuff to drink. Even if her hands are full, she can still get one of her drones to pop out of the cooler to feed her bits and bobs here and there while she takes light sips of her drink. She's not quite able to down it as quickly as Miyamomo had, but she actually seems used to drinking the strong stuff if her lack of recoiling is any indication.

Persephone's lack of subtlety, meanwhile, has Cantio... Actually, it doesn't surprise her one bit. "That, she is. They really do make a good combination." She replies in wholehearted agreement, albeit with considerably less staring at Tamamo in comparison. "Definitely want to see how far they get next time.. And you, too, Phony! I'll probably be helping everyone out to keep things fairer, so."

There's a hint of smugness in her tone there for some reason. She's totally thinking about the first round's results.

Lilian comes back out, and Cantio's once again staring in mid-bite. She's not doing a good job of not staring at people today, although she does ease up into another snicker when Lilian all but stakes her claim to Tamamo. "Good friends, indeed~" She states in an imitation/combination of that same tone Persephone and Miyamomo had used. "And we're all getting along fine, don't worry. Even me and Hearthward! Besides, that's... Ah, that's so adorable, you two!" She can't help but squeak a little at that, though, not quite able to hold it completely in.
Kale Hearthward Kale listens to the explanation on how to the volleys and the balls. "I see."

He does some quick stretches, and then goes over to one side of the court. "Okay, lemme give this a shot. Serve it over at me!"

He gets ready to hit it.

Lilian makes her appearance.

The volleyball hits him in the head, knocking sense back into him. He shakes his head, and goes to grab the ball. "Right, um, let's try that again," he says, trying to just play it off and tossing the ball back over.
Candy      "Thanks!~" Candy grins at Phony.

     "I know, right?" he responds to Cecelia. "The kind with the stripes, that was all I saw last year. But I think this is much better, ah?" he beams.

     Helping himself to a drink, he looks 'innocently' over at Miku and Hibiki as the latter is quickly ushered away. The smile is decidedly less innocent when he notices Cantio looking, and gently nudges Phony knowingly.

     Tamamo comes in to save the day, and he doesn't press. "We're getting along fine!" comes his response to Lilian. "Right, everybody?"

     "That's a good look for you, Irish," he adds. "And a good idea!" He takes after her and downs his glass in one go. A cold beer finds its way into his hand to replace it. "Even when you take a day off, you do it the most Lilian way possible." He laughs, arms spread wide. "You're reallu something."
Rhongomyniad     Rhongomyniad mulls thoughts over with her eyes closed, twirling her glass and swirling the chilled wine within, "One can never expect to expand their territory and expect only peaceful dealings. I am more than passingly familiar with the life of a conqueror, as common as the need was during the height of Camelot." One eye opens, sliding across Cantio and Tamamo in turn, "One must therefore be prepared equally for exploration as they are for combat. I believe this to be the ideal approach in Secundus' myriad territories as well, and so we appear to be in agreement, Tamamo no Mae."

    She turns moreso to observe Alexis and her pokemon demonstrating volleyball; observing placidly. Upon the trainer's attempt at return going awry, the King raises her glass, "One-Love. Alexis serve-- should you proceed beyond a simple demonstration, of course."

    "There have been no disagreements, Lilian Rook," the King acknowledges with her eyes closed. She does lift her glass once more to the Knight and her Sorceress though, "My thanks to our gracious hostess who has at last joined us rather than serve us; Let us each raise our glasses."
Miyamomo     Miyamomo gasps with delight as Harri emerges from their Pokeball. "My goodness! I've never seen anything like you!" Her intent on wanting to pet it is obvious, but she doesn't intrude on the lesson. Her eyes are keen, watching the movements of the Pokemon and trainer carefully. "So, the ball is not to be directly handled, but kept in the air with strikes. The goal is to make it touch the ground on the other side of the net. Okay~! I think I understand." She giggles as Kale takes a ball to the head at the sight of Lilian. "You'll never impress her like that. You need to be more like..."

    She walks over to take her place on one side of the net and says, "You two can make up the other team~ I'll serve." She smiles, showing a flash of teeth, eyes gleaming with confidence.

    Once they're in place, Miyamomo tosses the ball into the air, almost casually. And then turns around, leaps into a backflip, and serves it with an almighty bicycle kick that booms like a cannon shot as it streaks across the net, groundwards!
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Regard the swimsuit

    Arthur's head pops over the top of his next sand-project, a series of elaborate LOSAF spire recreations clustered tightly together and defying gravity entirely by just staying up where the tides wash around their base. "DAMN GIRL, that's HELLA PRETTY." He rambles. "You droppin' a homie's YEAR'S SALARY up in this outfit? And shit, you got HIT by the GORGEOUS KINTSUGI TRUCK or what, fuckin' NICE." He whistles an admiring tune.

    "So what's the deal with BEACH MAID." He gestures to Cecilia. "BLACK, in THIS SUN? You payin' another FORTY GEES on the HARDEST SWEAT-WICKING KNOWN TO MANKIND or something over here, LIL'? Got that shit ENCHANTED?"

    He's interrupted by the sonic boom of MIyamomo's kick. "FUCKIN' HELL!" He starts that obnoxious too-enthusiastic laugh. "Hahahaha, HOLY FUCK, they startin' POWERED BEACH VOLLEYBALL?"
Alexis Alexis tries hard to not openly snicker at Kale getting wonked with the ball because he's gawking at Lil. She has to keep a hand over her mouth to do so as she's getting back up, and Miyamomo takes the volleyball. "Yeah. Or get them to hit it out of bounds. That's the basic idea of i--"

Green eyes widen as she realizes what Miyamomo is about to do. "HANDS AND ARMS!" But it's much too late to stop the kitsune from her antics to power kick-serve the volleyball.

Fortunately Hurri is on the ball so to speak, and leaps to help her.

Except he does so by using his own spinkick to wack the high speed ball away from Alexis and back over the net. "Don't encourage it!" Followed by a sigh of relent as she puts a hand to her brow. "It's the Multiverse, I shouldn't be surprised it'd turn into a super powered slam fest."
Tamamo     'She's very, very lucky to have you and everyone else, Miss Tamamo.'
    Having heard quite nearly the perfect response, Tamamo gives Miku a heartfelt smile, and gets as far as "Thank you," before Lilian reappears, which puts thoughts of 'someone else's' tendency toward putting in great effort against all her problems quite out of mind.

    It's carried her into a rather good mood, comfortably adding her presence to Lilian's, without need to do more than shift her own weight in Lilian's direction.

<J-IC-Scene> Hibiki Tachibana says, "I don't mind it, either. Seeing you in a swimsuit hit me harder, actually."

    Tamamo gives Miku a look containing both apology and solidarity in a certain aspect of shared suffering.
Lilian Rook     Lilian gets looks. Understandable, given she was the last to change and walked out like the oujo making her debut and all. She huffs anyways. "This is a beach. You all whined that I wasn't a swimsuit. What's the problem?" It is quickly settled.

    "Perfect." Lilian finishes Hibiki's sentence for her. "Like everything else I am and do. Isn't that right?" A weirdly tense second passes, then relaxes. Even for Cantio. "I'm glad. I'll admit I wasn't entirely certain about this. But it seems without certain instigating influences, you people really can get along." Lilian pauses to consider. "Or maybe I just mostly find myself taking a liking to people who can get along? Isn't that a rare and adult thing, after all?"

    She smiles anyways. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Kohinata. I think I'm actually quite glad this is our first time speaking. I really wasn't certain what type of girl Tachibana had gotten for herself, but I can tell just by the way you two speak to each other that you're well beyond what I expected. She'd better be doing her utmost to keep you, if you're going to spoil her with that much class."

    Lilian spares a smug little smirk for Candy. "Speaking of the complete and total opposite, if you'd had the brains to get that fitted, you'd almost belong in one of Cecilia's old photographs." she smarms in a probably friendly way. "My highest goal in life is to do everything in the most Lilian way possible. Then ten years from now, people I've never met will be saying that too."

    Her composure is somewhat less for Arthur's insolent teen chatter. "That's-- I'm working on it. It's harmless." she insists, doing her best not to step behind Tamamo. "And I don't know how much a salary a 'homie' makes." A second later, she sharply interrupts him "Of course it is. What do you take me for? And did you really think I forced Cecilia to wear that?"

    Cecilia laughs. "Even if it's for pleasure rather than work, the Lady's maid is a sort of archetype worthy of respecting, isn't it? I'd never dare change out of this lovely gift as long as I'm 'on the job' you know! Professional honour and all~" She helpfully adds for Cantio "A lady over twenty-five mustn't give away her age, but I've been with the Rook household for a very long time, so let's leave it at that~" A giggle follows. "Sorry dear, but no promises~ I have a rule about gossip that people would only love hearing, and it's not to be a bogart!"

    "Oh, I've packed mine away too Mister Estevez. I do appreciate a familiar sight. Even if that is a little bold. Well, you're an unmarried man aren't you? So who am I to say."

    When Rhongomyniad suggests a toast, Cecilia is of course, all for it, power gliding around with the kind of flawless pace only the mythical creature known as a head maid can accomplish with ten glasses in tow. Enough to foist one into ever available hand the second they aren't looking, and have her own to follow the King's lead. Appropriately, they're basically just 'four shots' sized'.

    And then when Miyamomo suggests volleyball, Lilian is clearly strongly considering it. Releasing Tamamo, Lilian approaches Miyamomo with her usual swagger now. Clasping her hands, twisting her body, and stretching her arms, she accidentally emphasizes what her conservative 'casual' wear hides, but a few people here have (painfully felt) in the subtle definition of her abs and arms. "Oho, brave! Exactly as brave as I expect from the hermit fox of Mount Fuji! Hey Tamamo, what do you say? Or would you prefer to 'watch my back'~?"
Persephone Kore      Persephone gasps, which is an extremely un-Persephone-like thing to do, and covers her mouth with one hand when Lilian emerges. Her eyes are wide; her eyebrows lifted in silent shock. It's very hard to tell, but she just might be blushing a tiny bit.

     "It's amazing," she finally says as Lilian approaches, her hand dropping to reveal a slyly appreciative smile. "You're amazing. Even if you don't mean to stay like this... thank you for showing us this side of you, Lily-R. It really is gorgeous."

     A little more conspiratorially: "And thanks for making sure I'm not alone. Ahahaha~"

     Cecilia's fretting half-refusal meets with a chidingly gentle frown. "Oh, don't be like that. How would you feel if Lilian started refusing the things you do for her, just because she feels like you've 'done enough'? It makes me happy to give people things! If you really want to be selfless, you should accept it even though you feel guilty!"

     The maid's eventual acceptance returns the smile to her face. "Okay! Just tug on my arm as soon as you're done, then. Or just think it, haha! I'll keep an ear out."

     She starts walking over towards Arthur's excessive sand structures while sipping from her drink a little more, but stops to tousle Cantio's hair with her free hand. "Ahaha, you did great out there too, didn't you? I'm proud of you, Cantio~ But if you're helping 'everyone', does that mean it's okay for me to crush you, too?" There is, of course, a little dangerous lilt behind her words.

     Finally, she sits down next to Arthur in the damp sand and starts to sculpt her own little thing. It looks like a pyramid that's been blown halfway open, cavitated and shredded. Little sand-people are telekinetically moving inside, re-enacting remembered movements. Candy and Lilian might remember what it depicts.

     She is absolutely, totally cheating in its construction. But Arthur's cheating in his, so it's fine~
Tamamo     Miyamomo tosses the ball into the air, almost casually. And then turns around, leaps into a backflip, and serves it with an almighty bicycle kick that booms like a cannon shot...

    'Hey Tamamo, what do you say? Or would you prefer to 'watch my back'~?'


    "Oh, I should be glad to. Please pardon our intrusion, then." Tamamo claps her hands together.

    "Oh, but were the rules all quite explained...? I suppose I have not much experience of which to speak, but of this, I do recall, that the ball must land 'within bounds,' and that one side must contact the ball no more than twice before it is exchanged to the other... or am I misremembering...? Ah, well, I am certain we shall discover as what would be most enjoyable."
Kale Hearthward Kale glances over at the badly suppressed snicker.

"... Mmmf."

He steps away from the volleyball for a bit, to take a glass and toast. "To Rook! And to the Eighth Code!"

He raises his glass, and then drains it.

"... And here's to half a years salary on a dress," he adds. "And to the hope that we all get *there* some day."

As he's going back to rejoin the volleyball court, he glances over as Persephone talks to Cantio. There's a spike of something, for anyone who happens to be 'listening' on mental or emotional channels, but outwardly Kale doesn't react.
Cantio Candy gives Cantio a look, and she sees him nudging Persephone. Coward that she is, Cantio turns away, but it's obvious that she was totally staring again and isn't sure where else to look. She can feel her face growing hotter when Persephone musses her hair up and praises her, feeling that swell of pride in her chest again. "Heh... Thanks! H-hey, I'll be helping you, too. But... It would be interesting to see how that turns out."

Cantio's initially thinking of an actual test of skill and might against Persephone's own. It takes her a little longer to realize that it sounds like she might've meant something else, and then that has her looking away again hastily. Unfortunately, she just so happens to turn right to Rhongomyniad and being reminded of the height and general size difference yet again.

At least there's talk of Secundus exploration and land grabbing to distract her. "I don't doubt there's going to be more fighting, no. Who's going to be fighting who, though, is where it could get interesting. I won't make it a secret that I'm going to be looking for more places to test stuff, at least, so if anyone's not okay with that..."

This might be going in a bad direction. Instead, Cantio has her drone clap its hands together, and then she raises her glass as well, following Rhongomyniad's lead. "It can't be a party without the host, after all. Even if we won't agree about everything, we can still enjoy ourselves when we're not busy with all that. Otherwise, we'll just burn ourselves out."

And then she takes a bigger sip of her drink. She shivers lightly, but is still keeping it together for now. She does raise an eyebrow at Cecilia's mention of such a specific number, though, furrowing her brow moments later. "So in a few more years... Ah, yes! Don't worry, you don't look a day over..."

She's not going to finish that sentence. "I suspect she knows, anyway. I probably haven't been too subtle about that with anyone I've been watching, anyway."
Kale Hearthward <J-IC-Scene> Persephone Kore says, "Are you and Cantio together? You didn't tell me~"

Another volleyball bounces off of Kale's head.
Rhongomyniad     With that brief toast offered, Rhongomyniad retires to observe the unfolding volleyball match. She does not volunteer herself for such an event. Rather, she selects for herself one of the beach loungers. The parasol is closed, then opened again-- becoming much bigger so that she can plant it in the sand before taking herself a seat. In this way, the Summer Lion King lounges with her chilled wind and entertainment aplenty.
Alexis "I think by this point they're just Calvinball-ing it," Alexis relies haplessly to Tamamo. "Eh, as long as people are having fun, let them have their superpowered fun." That's what they're here for after all.
Miyamomo     "Hahaha~! My mistake!" But Hurri is there to return it in much the same way. The kitsune bounces on her toes, readying up to return it, when Lilian makes her intent on joining the game known. So instead, she catches the ball on her chest, sending it skyward and catching it when it finally comes down. "We'd be honoured to have you~ And if Lady Tamamo is at your side, I suppose I too shall need a partner. Would anyone like to join me? Though I confess, interesting my mettle against the both of you sounds delightful."

    "Ah yes, the rules. The aim is to make the ball land on the other side of the net. You are not to directly handle it, only striking it with HANDS AND ARMS." She turns and nods to Alexis, smiling as if what she did was a mistake anyone might make.

    She passes the ball to Lilian and readies up, partner or no. "You may have the first serve!"
Lilian Rook     Persephone's gasping, out of the entire crowd of reactions, get Lilian to turn a little red and glance the other way. "I'd look ridiculous if I didn't dress appropriately. And there's no point in neurotically gripping to the illusion of being a perfect proper little doll-like lady at this point. I live that lifestyle part-time now. What happens, happens." A huff and a barely audible murmur. "That was half the reason, so you'd better appreciate it."

<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook sighs in grievous annoyance.
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "You'd better cut it out if even Lowell is starting to get a clue."
<J-IC-Scene> Arthur Lowell says, "Yeah, BLUEBERRY'S got that whole CRYSTAL HUMAN-BUT-NOT thing happenin'. Like, INSPIRATION or somethin', right?"
<J-IC-Scene> Arthur Lowell immediately swerves off of any insight: "SUMMER used to do TROLL COSPLAY, gettin' their GRAY CARAPACE stuff goin. You wanna CATCH UP on them QUADRANTS or somethin'? Right?"
<J-IC-Scene> Persephone Kore says, "See, he's harmless~"
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "What did I *tell you* about *quadrants*?"
<J-IC-Scene> Arthur Lowell, proudly, "WASN'T LISTENING."

    "Excuse me just a moment." says Lilian, now marching over to Lowell. "Tenth Code. When thou speak from authority absolute, so must be thy judgement. Thy word remains true even if the mind does not. None shall follow one who countermands their absolute judgement." she enunciates with perfect, absolute menace. "It's not my fault if you forgot." Getting twenty paces from him, Lilian moves from her ominous but sedate strut to suddenly blink right over behind Arthur and, as promised, soccer kick him with prodigous force right off the beach and into the ocean a short distance away. "As they say, 'fuck around and find out'." says Lilian, clearing her throat and returning to the court.

    When miyamomo passes her the ball, Lilian favours her with a passing palm slap, and absently thinks to ask "Do we have a deciding policy on powers?" She doesn't really wait for an answer just to serve though. The motion looks very normal, if about three feet in the air too high, though the ball comes down with an immense amount of force --the kind matched to the way she's casually broken certain people's noses in past-- and . . . actually the angle looks sort of weird. The human 'throw rock and stick good' brain computes a forty five degree angle, but it's a sharp and confusing thirty, very easy to flub responding to. "Well, I'll enjoy watching you bounce up and down regardless~"
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Go into the fucking ocean

    No, there's still another five seconds of hitstop. Four... three... two... okay, try again.

>Arthur: Go into the fucking ocean

    Arthur arcs comically high lands out past the tides with a short 'psh-unk!' of impacting the water in a raw bellyflop. He washes up on the shore several seconds later, still laughing between pained winces.
Hibiki Tachibana     Hibiki says something that only she is unaware of the implications of, glancing back to Tamamo with a look of raw confusion before looking back to Lilian.

'I can only wonder what sort of thoughts Tachibana is having at the shocking sight of my swimsuit-clad self.'
    'Because I am assuming.'

    Slowly, the hamster wheel starts turning. It's her turn to go red in the face, tensing up and raising up both hands to shake left-to-right n front of her. "Heh!? Wait, it wasn't anything like that! I just meant--like Miku said, stuff like this--I'm just not used to--"

    Miku, in the back, exchanges a scarily similar look back with Tamamo that all but says this isn't the first or the last time. She steps right in behind the other girl and cuts her short with a pinch to the ear while casually addressing Lilian with a smile as if nothing had happened. "I feel the same way. Getting those kind of compliments...aha, I'm not used to it. Don't worry. I don't think Hibiki would ever. And I wouldn't let her go either!"

    Tug. "Ow, Miku...!" She lets go. It's plainly obvious that didn't actually hurt, but of course Hibiki didn't fight her way out of it anyway. "Agh, I'm sorry...look, I really didn't mean it that way!" For her troubles, she gets a pat on the head. "It's fine. Here, why don't we find a spot to watch them all go at it?"

    With that, the two shift off to the side to acquire drinks of their owns and find a spot on the sidelines--though after a bit of quiet back and forth between the two of them, Hibiki calls in towards the court, "If Miyamomo doesn't get a partner by next round, I'm tagging in!"
Alexis "It's a beach party, showing off is kind of the point." Alexis just shrugs and rolls with it. "If you guys want to make up rules to use special abilities, go for it. Make it fun. That's the important part."

Though being just a human with cute siezure battle monsters she's not going up against two superpowered competators. Honestly, even the Hawlucha looks a bit wary of getting between the kitsune and Lillian, and he's a Fighting type. "I think now would be a good time for a snack break." "Cha." Shiskabobs look good. "Mirage, you want anything?"

The Flygon opens one eye behind her bugeye-lenses, then rolls over the other way so she's bathing in the sun.

"Well at least save a spot for us over there."
Lilian Rook     Cecilia laughs in response to Cantio. It's incredible how she can sort of laugh at someone and still sound like a female lead about to segue into a musical number. "Yes, yes, a few more years~ Don't worry, I'm entirely flattered young lady~" She looks off In A Direction. "At your age, you should be focused on . . . well, try to be more like Lilian, perhaps? Thinking of who you want to be, and discovering who you can be; then finding the people --maybe even the one-- who brings that person out of you~ Worry about homemaking later~" She hurries back off inside in short order, returning a minute later with an additional set of plates for whole roast and glazed medley, and then a few more minutes later to come back out with ice cream. Like, a lot of it. And fodder for smores, for later!

    "Half a year's salary?" Lilian utters after serving. "Oh my Hearthward. That's really just . . . you really need to learn to negotiate your terms of employment. Otherwise they'll always take your for pennies where they can. Aren't you one of the 'Winds'? Shouldn't you command a livable wage? I should at least hope for a bare three hundred from you." Oh boy. Oh boy she doesn't sound like she's being facetious at all. "What in God's name is a calvinball?"
Tamamo     'Though I confess, interesting my mettle against the both of you sounds delightful.'

    "For my own part, I have little doubt of your physical prowess, Miyamomo-san. Oh, but I wonder if Lilian has played this, before now? That would make for a single one of us, being so experienced. I have, as yet, done no more than observe a match from afar, some few times."

    She gets onto the court (or rather, the sand designated to now be a court), and there's not really anything to say she's using 'powers.' She's only very technically 'superhuman,' really. Compared to certain humans, there's not even that.
Candy      The figures in the little sand pyramid take on colors as Candy casts a warm smile towards it. Nothing overly complex--just enough to suggest the familiar.

     He's found his way to a folding chair on the sidelines, legs crossed as he cradles an open beer, feet digging into the toasty sand.

     "You'll do fine, Tamamo! I don't know how to play neither, but I know you got it."
Kale Hearthward Kale takes five from the volleyball game as the superpowers come out. His own powers would start up a sandstorm if he tried to keep up with the other elites, and ruin the beach for everyone, or at least that's the excuse he's going to use if anyone asks.

Besides, something more pressing's come up.

"Look, it's - agh, it's not like that," he says, as he heads over towards Cantio and Persephone. "Don't read that much into it."

He barely has time to say anything more than that before Lilian scores another hit on him, even after he's stepped away from the game. "Gah - Rook, come *on*," he says, turning back towards her. "I don't-"

He pauses.

"Hang on are you saying *you* have three-"

"-... I'm going to go talk to someone when I get back to the barracks," he concedes, deflating.
Miyamomo     "Hmm? Powers? I'm not using any! This is all my natural athleticism!" Miyamomo says proudly, her body very much showing muscle tone, but not enough to justify those thunderous spikes. "But, Miss Rook, if you need to use yours to /keep up with me/, well... how could I refuse you~?"

    The match begins, and Lilian spikes the ball like it's a criminal, its arc strange and confusing. Miyamomo stands in centre court, watching it sail by her towards the rear corner... and then she's there, getting her fist under it and bumping it back skywards. "A fine strike! Now, let's see..." She's a fierce fighter indeed, but my challenge was a two-pronged attack. Will she use her powers or not? To do so would be to imply I was right, that she needs them to keep up, so she may choose not to as a matter of pride. But the risk of losing would also wound her pride. And then there's her partner to contend with. An unknown factor to me.

    The ball begins to come down and she's not moving. But as it comes level with her waist, her hand flickers imperceptibly. Smashing it with a one-inch punch with such force it flies upwards at forty-five degrees, looking likely to go over the net and into the jungle. But as it passes that first threshold, Miyamomo is there again, directly behind the net, arm raised to spike it down.

    I will spike it at her partner! This way, I both learn more about her, and test Lilian's reaction! Will she put faith her in her? Or will she use her powers to cross the court and intercept?

    Another resounding slam as the ball is spiked at Tamamo's feet!
Cantio 'Don't read that much into it.'
"R... Right. Besides, you have a fiance at home, and I think it's better if we just stayed frrr... Rrrrrivals?"

This is getting much too awkward for Cantio's brain to continue processing properly. She looks utterly baffled by the idea rather than embarrassed, and she's still staring at Kale with vague suspicion up.

Cecilia gets her attention off that sooner rather than later, at least, along with seeing all sorts of antics on the volleyball court and all the jumping and other maneuvers in play. Cantio doesn't reply right away, instead taking a moment to think on those words. "More like her? I guess there have been times I've been single-mindedly focused on things before, especially..."

Best not to dredge up painful memories. "... But I'm still trying to find the right balance for myself. Being around the right people is... I think I've got that handled already."She glances over at Persephone, at Hibiki, at Candy, at Kale, and at Lilian at that. "Moreso back home than here, but... Yeah. Who I want to be and who I can be, though?"

That has her thinking longer. It's not as if she hasn't had time to consider that after so many mixed successes, failures, and ass-beatings, but she doesn't have an answer for Cecilia even after the head maid has already left and returned with THE GOOD SHIT.

She'll need some of that good shit with her drinks to start relaxing again.
Alexis Yeah, this is definitely turning into a game she'd rather watch than play.

Which is exactly what Alexis does, taking her shiskabobs and refilled drinks over to where her Flygon is sunbathing. Hurricanrana grabs a couple of beach loungers for them. Soon enough Trainer and Pokemon alike are kicking back on them loungers. And a view of the volleyball field. "Now this is prime beach trip material."

She holds her umbrellaed fruity drink over, and Hurri clinks it with his drink-in-a-coconut. Because we need to get that trope in here too.
Persephone Kore      Phony's telekinetically-animated sand figures are waging an elaborately choreographed fight in the blown-open sand pyramid, which is being systematically demolished by their itty-bitty 'attacks'. She spares a bit of attention from the cozy spectacle to remotely lift Arthur out of the water as if by the scruff of his neck, setting him back down on his feet gently with an added pat on the head.

     She looks up from her reclining posture, elbow braced on the sand and cheek in her palm, to beam smugly at Kale as he approaches. "I believe you," she says, and seems to mean it. "But that won't stop me from thinking it's cute, you know~ Taking her under your wing like that, even though you're still leaning and growing yourself... there's something really earnest and adorable about that, isn't there."

     "Of course," she adds casually, plucking one of the little sand action-figures out of the pyramid between two fingers and holding it up to demonstrate, "if you really do want to cover for her, that's okay~ I'll just have to crush you twice as hard to make up for it!" The little sand-figure is molded into an imitation of Kale's features. It's squished pancake-flat between her index finger and thumb, then springs back into shape as if it's a gummy.

     Cantio's glance is met with a little wink. You're getting there! I really do believe in you."

     "Three hundred thousand seems a little low, doesn't it?" she opines a moment later. "I'm really not sure what the Concord pays me. But I'm pretty sure it's a lot more than that! They gave me a Dorado Black card and everything."

     Eventually, she reluctantly pushes herself up (somehow none of the sand seems to stick to her at all) and meanders back over to the tables to get ice cream- "Awww, this looks wonderful! Do you have eggnog-flavored? Or cinnamon-pecan?" In her absence, the sand-figures freeze in their fighting as if time were stopped, pieces of the collapsing sand-pyramid held in midair.
Lilian Rook     "Ah Tamamo, would you care to 'say a prayer for good luck'? And I'm certain it should be fine if you use your mirror, no? That's basically a part of your being isn't it?" She looks to Miyamomo. "As long as nothing crosses the court, there shouldb't be a problem, right? Otherwise, it's a little bit mean to ask a delicate woman like Tamamo to play. I won't forgive bullying you know." Lilian makes a noncommittal sound to Tamamo again.. "A little bit. I'm no expert at volleyball, but I should be more than enough for most here."

    §Oh, to be clear, all you need to do is play defense with the Yata. Pop it up into the air and steal all its momentum, then I can handle the rest. Miyamomo is extremely strong, so it's best if we split the duties of preventing scoring --the ball hitting our side of the court-- and returning it according to our strengths. Don't worry about where you send the ball as long as it's not back over the net.§

    "Hmph. Athleticism. You're feeling cocky aren't you? Just because you've got that body. But in that case, if we define athleticism as 'only the power of my own body, mind, and skill; the ability to move that I was born with and is innate to myself, which I have honed with hard work', then I'm fine with that. Otherwise I'll have to disqualify you for being inherently magical in body rather than a bunch of fleshy muscles you know."

    Granted, if Tamamo can actually deflect the ball in a reasonably upward direction, Lilian maneuvers under it with careful patience, and then jumps to meet it, meeting it with a clasped overhead hammerhand to send it streaking a hairsbreadth over the top of the net. She's not as absurdly strong and fast as Miyamomo, but it's sort of like saying that a tiger isn't dangerous compared to an elephant. All that stuff about 'human template origin' must mean something if she can crack the ball with a gunshot sound with a wicked spin, and she certainly has clean martial form (and girl abs).

    If Tamamo cannot, for whatever reason, that's when Lilian has to use her Extra Muscles, rather than let her get whacked or scared off with the ball.

    Her semi-substantial black and gold foot doesn't make any noise when she steps with it. The sound of her running is eerily hushed and lopsided.

    §We're not going to get anywhere just pitting my body against Miyamomo's, but the flaw is that she won't have a partner who can even begin to keep up with her. Target the weak link, strike with maximum force, don't hold back. Same as always.§


    After sending it back, Lilian has just enough time to talk to Kale and Persephone. "From the Paladins? Oh, a bit more than that. It's matched to my worth-index as an Immune though, not my personal net. It's how they scout talent. It'd be sort of ridiculous if they expected someone who can get anything they want to come fight for them at the same rate as a total amateur, right? I negotiated at least as much as what I'd make committing to a fulltime mission rate at home. Of course it's sort of honest pocket money for me, but you're not the finance type; I understand that. Did you really think the Paladins don't have scaled pay? Isn't it obvious that high-class Elite talent requires more compensation to coax to the table than what a rank and file soldier like Langstrom can demand? Please see HR, or a lawyer."
Candy      "'Crush him,' ah?" Candy glances from Kale to Persephone, as the latter squishes a little effigy of the former. "Maybe he's onto something with that kind of talk," he impishly adds.

     Deciding to hit Hibiki with splash damage, he makes another observation from his beach chair throne. "Is that what you fighty types are after? Dunno why I didn't see it sooner. You guys got a pretty good racket, you know."

     Feeling especially saucy now that he's through his second drink, he adds, for Lilian, "That must be how come I never got no job offer from them. Couldn't afford me! Hahaha."
Kale Hearthward Kale absolutely has to talk to Cantio about some things now. In private. Away from prying eyes and prying... minds.

"I just - assumed that the rate they offered at first was the... standard rate..."

He rubs his face. "Absolutely talking to HR - maybe also a lawyer... I was using some of my own money for the expedition, even..."
Tamamo     'Ah Tamamo, would you care to 'say a prayer for good luck'?'
    "Oho, but it is somewhat different, when it is myself? Still, I take your meaning. Or rather, I have already made such preparations, knowing who it is who would be attending."

    Not because of a volleyball opponent, though. That's not enough of a reason to use her mirror.

    Tamamo watches the ball take that upward trajectory, as if Miyamomo had entirely forgotten about the need to remain 'within bounds.'

    She is entirely certain that that's not the case, and sets herself in the opposite half from Lilian, preparing to see to where she'll need to move, if at all. Of course, if it goes toward the opposite half, she won't. That's the way the game was played, as she recalls. It's not like the players of a team are looking in different directions. It's as clear to one as to the other, for whom the ball is spiked.

    As it happens, it comes for her, directly. Spiked toward her feet. It's an easy, perfect setup, made difficult only by Miyamomo's strength, requiring nothing but the ability to react, and the strength to take that contact.

    It's not cheating to react to something before it happens. She simply made the judgment that this is what would happen. Beginning her motion while Miyamomo is leaping is the only way Tamamo could keep 'react' in time.

    She's already begun the downward motion as the ball strikes both her arms, held before her and braced, tilting downward, but previously angled to prevent it from bouncing away in front of her. In the smallest fraction of a second, it rolls forward down her arms, her feet fall farther into the sand as the impact spreads, legs apart and knees bent for maximum stability, before she reverses the ball's direction, momentum arrested at only the price of a red mark on her arms. She can think about how it smarts afterward. She's not fast enough to think while doing that, having instead, simply, planned out the whole attack, counter, and trajectory ahead of time.

    It's a very lazy upward lob, but easily within Lilian's range.
Lilian Rook     Lilian shakes her head to Kale piteously. "Oh no. Oh no no no. Did nobody teach you? The way it works is that they offer you something absurdly low, but just low enough they think it won't be insulting and make you walk. Then you offer something absurdly high as a counter; something you don't expect to get, but think you're worth on your best days. Then you each take turns to work your way towards the middle until one of you folds. That's how bargaining is, Hearthward."

    "You really got taken in. If they were offering you ninety thousand or so as a starting rate, you could have easily argued them up. Mention a dependent and imperial tribute obligations, bespoke gear maintenance and airship upkeep, et cetera." She looks to Phony. "What do you even spend that card on anyways? I'd meant to ask before, but it wasn't the time. You have everything you need at home, don't you? Your lifestyle is already so modest."

    Between exchanges of the ball, she finds enough time to speak to Candy, sentence by sentence. "Oh for-- Don't refer to me as a 'fighty type'; that's so reductive! The Paladins greatly appreciates my resources, my political and economic acumen, my interpersonal skills, my talents at reconnaissance and espionage, the 'way' I have with people, my extensive magical pedigree, my contacts and craft, my extremely accurate future forecasts and highly sophisticated planning, and my expertise with all sorts of matters of the arcane, to say nothing of my tenfold personal work efficiency. The fact that I'm the single best surgical strike and VIP defense asset in the Elite combat  corps is just a cherry on top~"

    "Crush him all you like." she adds to Phony. "I know you have a sort of personal contest going on, so I won't interfere. My involvement before was for personal reasons. When I next get involved, it'll be for matters of networking, not so much conquering. But I wonder, what would you even get up to? You don't strike me as the 'plant your flag and spread your influence' type. Is it something to do with that sister company to Sapient Heuristics?"
Hibiki Tachibana     From the sidelines, after settling in, Hibiki is almost magnetically glued to the sights of the match despite it only just now starting. For one, this is probably the first time she's gotten to see Miyamomo do her thing in person, even if it's only volleyball. For two, seeing Lilian and Tamamo working together has its own way of drawing attention, just like back at the mall.

    At least until Candy speaks up about 'fighty types', and she blinks and looks his way. "Hah? Are you trying to imply something over there? I just got finished clearing up one misunderstanding!"

    From her side, there is only a giggle.
Cantio Confusion abounds as Cantio sees that wink from Persephone, no longer sure if it's about what she was talking to Cecilia about or being okay with getting crushed or that whole thing with Kale. She does wink back, though, despite it being evident on her face that she's not even sure what she's winking for.

That is some good ass food, though, and it doesn't take much longer before Cantio's hands are finally free to get in on that ice cream and smores action. She's rather content to keep watching the volleyball game all the while, having what is sure to be a compelling internal monologue on par with that of the seasoned vets at the net.

... Actually, she's just going 'ooh' and 'aah' a lot. She's never played volleyball in her life. Candy's comment about fighty types and Hibiki's subsequent protest, however, does have Cantio inching over to try and get a better idea of what that's all about.

"I mean... you do solve a lot of problems with fighting. Why not lean into it? You could probably make some nice spending money if you find the right channels for it." She suggests with a helpful, if somewhat playful grin.
Miyamomo     Aha, she's receiving it! Someone who can stand equal to her, and Lilian acknowledges that. So I'm dealing with a united front... Lilian intercepts the ball and returns it over the net. Miyamomo lands from her spike, her eyes dancing between the two. They'll be seeking to overcome me with numbers and mutual support. Unfortunately, I have no partner. That does mean I have my side of the court entirely to myself, but even I will get tired defending it.

    The ball passes over, skimming the top. And then Miyamomo is there again, jumping and spiking it right back over. This one is aimed at the ground directly behind it.

    So I'll turn it into an up-close battle! I'll only need to defend the net itself, and the two of them will get in each other's way! Further, my strikes are heavier, and giving them no reprieve will tire them faster than it does me!

    "Show me! Can the two of you hold out against this?!"
Candy      Hibiki wants to know just what's being implied. "I'm saying, sometimes the loser isn't really the loser," Candy explains with a smug smile. "Pretty sneaky of you guys, keeping that one under wraps. Right, Cantio?"

     He holds out an index finger testily, as the other hand tips the bottle for another sip. "Yeah, well, I've got the most chickens out of anybody in the Watch," he flings facetiously back at Lilian, finishing the rest of his beer in one go. "I dunno what half the shit you said meant, but I know who I'd ask for if I needed help from you guys."

     The bottle is planted in the sand. Candy stands up and stretches. "Cheers." He wobbles, slightly, on his way to toss it, but he's back watching the match without incident.
Lilian Rook     Lilian sees Tamamo go for it with her arms alone. Her eyebrows jump up, eyes widening. "Tamamo . . ." she half-gasps, without elaboration. However, it seems to have inspired her to double her efforts.

    §Annoying. She's never played this sport, but she's already gotten a handle on her strategy. She probably doesn't know that I can tell what she's going to do, but it's only of minor help; she's a purebred dedicated martial artist, through and through. If we're restricting everything to only a couple of abilities, I'm mostly pitting my third strongest against her best, and my strongest is less useful than usual if I'm not going to cheat. Do I have more in the tank than her? What's her level of stamina? Does she get tired out normally, or can she keep going all day? She demolished half the food, so she must have energy to burn. How very annoying.§

    Lilian blasts the sand behind her to aggressively close in on the net before Miyamomo touches the ball, charging ahead in a way not at all reminiscent of the sport, but the language decisive openings measured in milliseconds natural to those experienced in superhuman duels. While the backspray from her pale leg is simply driven away at speed, the sandy plume from her dark leg lags strangely, lingering in the air as if slowed down to one third speed.

    Well, she catches the ball. That much was never in question. Lilian doesn't fail DEX rolls period. Initially at least, she gets there fast enough to deflect it back to Miyamomo's side.

    §Up close, I don't need to drive back all of its momentum to make it reverse course; if I hit it from the side, I only have to overcome a fraction of her strength to divert its course fast enough to land on her side. That'll help me conserve energy.§

    "Hey, since you don't have a partner, let's say you're allowed to hit it twice on your side. But in exchange, I think you should let Tamamo do what she likes. Deal?" Lilian says, after already making it impossible to retaliate with anything but a very impressive lob. To be fair, it is sort of a bullshit disadvantage to have only one hit on one side.

    She sasses Candy on the side. "Well, I certainly know which two people in the Watch I can trust with anything, so I suppose the feeling is mutual, if terribly asymmetrical." Even sassier "And it's not the number of chickens, but the size, don't you know?"
Hibiki Tachibana     Cantio joins in on it, and Hibiki - who still had at least 30% of her attention on the match - fully turns towards her. The question seems like it catches her off-guard, judging from the way she blinks and then seems to consider it openly.

    "Eh? ...Well, it's not like I hadn't thought about it once or twice in the past," she says with a hand on her chin, which soon goes back around to rub at the back of her neck. "And I don't /hate/ fighting, when there aren't any of the usual stakes in it. I guess I just haven't had a lot of reason to think about it recently. I've been mostly happy and I have enough money that I can't complain."

    She looks like she's mulling it over. "Hmm..." Then, Candy pipes back up, which gets a raise of an eyebrow out of her. "The loser isn't really the loser...?" The hamster wheel in her head is a-turning again. It's probably creaking.

    "It probably means you're coming away with something good even when you lose!" Miku chimes in, helpfully. It is impossible to tell how in-the-know she is. "Though I still think it'd be better if you didn't lose in the first place, even if you don't win either."
Persephone Kore      "What do I spend it on?" Persephone repeats, mulling over Lilian's question more than any normal person would have to. "Sometimes I donate it to the project so they can get a nice new thing. I like using it to help people on missions, too, when it's something my powers can't fix!" That doesn't sound like it happens very often. "Otherwise... good food, I guess? Haha, sorry. I'm really not good at spending money yet!"

     Phony eventually returns with her ice cream, having settled on simple vanilla with caramel and a cherry. "Competition? Oh, it's not like that! Haha, I just want to see how much Kale's grown. And crushing people is just a lot of fun, isn't it? If anyone else understands, you definitely would."

     She looks perfectly content to stand on the sidelines, spectate the game, and chew on the edges of her waffle cone. Lilian's follow-up question is the first thing to break her cozy reverie. "The sister project... haha, something like that. I don't want to give too much away, but..."

     "A long time ago, you said something. That the universe, as it is now, couldn't possibly survive everyone being given as much of a 'say' in reality as I have. And I told you that was the point. Think of it as a little test run of that, okay? The end of the world, and the start of something new."

     A little while later, a thought occurs to her. "Oh! I bet Cecilia's done with all that, now. I'll be right back, okay?" She wanders off in the direction of the bungalow, beelining for exactly where she knows the head maid is.
Persephone Kore      Once she catches up with her: "Cecilia? Do you have a minute now? I have something for you, remember! Lilian helped me pick it out, actually."

     "I remember all those things you said," she continues, with a sad little smile. "About how you're really not special at all. So you don't have much control over things. There's only so much you can do, right? And that made me sad, because it's true, but it shouldn't be. It'd be nice if the world recognized... how special your heart is. And Lily thinks so too."

     She holds out her hand, palm-up. (The one with the short nails.) "I can help with that. The things I do, they're meant for sharing and teaching. There's two parts to this gift; one will take a little more time, I think, because of the shape of your heart, but the other will be easy. Can I give you that half of it now? So you can be a little more special, and a little less helpless, from now on."
Tamamo     Tamamo has less hope of getting into that close-in fight and doing anything useful -- and so, she doesn't! There's an immediate judgment, without even seeming to have enough information to reasonably make it, before she leaves the next return for Lilian to handle. For her own part, she moves to the back-center of their half of the field and, expecting that Miyamomo won't object, retrieves a talisman from where it probably couldn't have been hiding given the nature of her outfit and recent displays of athletic ability. She strikes a pose.

    Is posing necessary? One can never be certain. It certainly looks more dynamic, and goes with that determined look in her golden eyes, and pulls attention away from the possible bruising recently given her.

    The backline support position is a natural one for someone of her talents, and she doesn't even need to do anything until there comes a point where Miyamomo's attempt to tire out her and Lilian could have borne fruit. Then, invoking her talisman, burning it away and scattering the ashes, divine blessings flow out to ensure Lilian has an effectively limitless pool of energy from which to draw, giving that vital edge in any test of endurance.
Cantio "There's nothing under wraps! He already has a fiance, and he's not my..." Cantio pauses while responding to Candy, trying to think on that last part a moment longer. It takes her two seconds before confirming it with a quick nod. ".. Type, anyway." She adds, sounding rather confident about that before downing another swig of that good shit. She shakes her head quickly, shivering again while leting herself relax a little more in watching the game and teasing Hibiki simultaneously.

"There's competitions, I hear, although finding one that allows Elites in might be another story. Or... Acting?" She pauses, snaps her fingers a few times, then gestures at Candy when Hibiki mentions the not-actually-losing thing. "Yeah, like in.. Televised wrestling? You're still getting paid either way, so you just need to make a good show of it somehow."

A hand goes to her chin, and then she looks over at her trusty drone boxes. "With the right sound systems to really make the hits sound hard, too... Hm. Hmhmhm. Maybe.... Maybe we've got something there."
Candy      Candy grins at Miku, pointing and nodding. She gets it--or at least, Candy seems to think she does. It's entirely possible they're on completely different wavelengths.

     "That's not wrong, neither," says Candy, nodding sagely at Cantio. "A good show at the right time goes a long way."

     Candy's got to raise his hand, or at least, feels the need to, when Lilian blasts forward. The slowed-down portion of it has him blinking owlishly before he realizes what's going on. "Wow..."

     He's almost caught off guard by the sass, crossing his legs and leaning back in the chair to rest his chin upon his hand. "Ask anybody about my chickens, they'll tell you how big," he impishly retorts.

     "Makes for a nice surprise, if they came over looking for something else, you know? Hahaha."

     He cheers again--the pose from Tamamo scores points with at least one part of the crowd.
Miyamomo     "Deal!" Miyamomo says, eager to push the competition further. This may prove to be a mistake, as Tamamo paces blessing upon blessing on Lilian, and now stamina is now issue. The two rally back and forward, the ball moving in inches over the net before being slammed back.

    Ah Lilian, truly a leader through and through. Putting this all together, the display with the swimsuit... ever are you trying to give example to others. The repeated impacts are parting the sand under the net, creating a dip in the beach.

    But why? I admit that the reason escapes me. You seem aggravated by people more than anything. What drives you to do this? Is it simply that... you don't think others would do it right?

    Her eyes slide over to Tamamo, and realization seems to set in. No, not quite. You trust her. So maybe, you did think that once... but you're learning otherwise. You're opening up. Finding your place among others. And the swimsuit is part of that. That's why you were embarrassed.

    Lilian returns the ball, and it skims Miyamomo's knuckles, passing her hand to hit the sand behind her. Point to them. "Ah... ahahaha! Oh dear, it seems I bit off more than I could chew. Good game to the both of you~"
Lilian Rook     "It is~" Lilian blurts in reply to Persephone before she really thinks about it. "Though you're a little more gratuitous than I am about it. Shameless? Let's go with that." There's a pause almost great enough for her to miss the ball. "I don't want everyone to have as big a say as you do. That's not fair. They don't all have hearts big enough to use that kind of say properly . . . But I look forward to seeing what things would be like if they had a little say. I'm getting a little bit tired of everyone always having none."

    She snorts at Candy. "I've seen your fanbase. I know perfectly well what they're after."

    The furious exchange at the net intensifies. Now Lilian is focused wholly on the competition. Though sweat inevitably accumulates on her body from the heated exertion under the sun, Tamamo's rapid sequence of metagame-breaking Arts looping keeps her in tip top form the whole time. Along with the strange asymmetry of her steps, there's a subtly different behaviour depending on which balance of handedness hits the ball; her semi-real shadowblack fingers cause it to accelerate away in a disproportionate manner, its velocity and spin increased without its net force, making for something difficult to constantly take into account. It doesn't even seem like she was doing it on purpose.

    Lilian is even too focused to really take in Miyamomo's appraisal of her. Her leaping, spiking, bunting, and diving is all so terribly earnest; laser-focused, goal driven, competitive, and secretly enjoying it like a dumb teenager who thinks they're going to the Olympics one day. Where she can't quite overcome Miyamomo's raw physical supremacy, she makes up for it, but never actually overdoes it into pushing an advantage, for reasons unknown. Finally, it's a super tricky spike that bounces a complete opposite angle from her wrists than it seemed it should that does it, and Lilian, innocently, obliviously, pops off for about five seconds, before realizing what she's doing, bashfully putting her arms back down, and coughing out a polite "Very well played Miyamomo. If only you had a partner too, we'd really have been in trouble. But I can't blame them for running away from you~"

    Wiping sweat from her brow, she jogs up and briefly smothers Tamamo in a Victory Squeeze, and whispers something into a fox ear. Then she returns to the sidelines, inquisitively (thus, a little menacingly) interrogating the Watch and Concord with "Oh? And what are you gossiping about over here?" Then "I'm going to take a little break, but then would anyone care to try boating while the sun is still up?"

    She really has completely forgotten all of what she was worried about showing off in a swimsuit. Wise fox. And other wise fox.
Lilian Rook     In the meantime, Cecilia wanders out one more time to clear plates and exchange them for one last round of replacement, as well as glasses for refills, and some washing later, comes out to the beach in her very own swimsuit. It's sort of a compromise between a modern one-piece and Candy-era beach bodystocking, for a very 'motherly' sort of person. She's intercepted (with polite fascination) by Persephone. It takes her a couple of seconds to process what she's really saying. Phony reads a memory, with a twinge of guilt, of Cecilia confronted by four Elites in her own kitchen, and full well knowing how stupid it is, but unable to stomach the idea of not standing up for Lilian once again, reaching for a kitchen knife.

    "Oh my . . . that's . . ." Cecilia starts, before immediately choking up. "Are you really certain? Isn't it a little . . . unfair, for a woman like me to . . . to have what you girls have suffered so much to get? But . . ." Her eyes glisten a tiny bit. "Did Lilian really say that? I . . . well, if that's my lady's wish, then . . ." She reaches out and firmly grasps Persephone's hands, staring intently into her eyes. "Then I'll accept anything, of course. I have my pride too."
Persephone Kore      Phony registers the memory-flicker with a little apologetic smile. Yeah. That was pretty awful, wasn't it? I'm so sorry I ever made you feel that way, Cecilia. That Kamen Rider... I'd say I don't know what he was thinking, but that's always a lie, haha.

     When Cecilia chokes up, though, her smile shifts to something warmly reassuring. "Of course you deserve it," Persephone murmurs softly. Her hand finds its way to Cecilia's shoulder. "You, more than anyone. Suffering isn't necessary to be good and deserving, you know! Haha, I've suffered less than you think."

     "And after you've done so much for girls like us, wouldn't it be cruel to leave you behind?"

     Persephone's hand squeezes Cecilia's tightly. She meets and acknowledges her determined gaze, then shuts her own eyes, taking on a more meditative expression. "Now. Close your eyes, and breathe deeply. Imagine that you're-"

     floating in a void of empty space, standing at the bottom of a deep dark sea. In this place there is no pressure. In this place the pressure is crushing. Neither and both of those are true. You can feel it now, can't you? Something you've felt all your life, but never noticed. The way the world crushes you down into shape. The way it weighs more than you.

     I'm still holding your hand. It's okay. What I'm going to share with you can't really be put into words, but I'll try my best to guide you through it!


     There is a feeling like drinking hot cocoa after hypothermia: warmth spreading through the body, veins tingling as they accept it. There is a feeling like seeing a magic-eye puzzle for the first time: a new faculty, a new vista sliding gently into focus. There is a feeling like heaviness-that-isn't-exactly-heaviness, 'gravitas' maybe, flowing outwards from one's heart.

    And now the pressure is a little different. It isn't empty enough to pull the air from your lungs anymore. It isn't crushing enough to press you down into shape anymore. It's only space, and you can move through it. It's only water, and your body displaces it. You should always have been this special. It's the world's mistake that it didn't notice you! It notices you now. More than that, it listens.

     Outwardly, nothing really seems to happen. Persephone lets go of Cecilia's hand, finally, at the same time she opens her eyes. "How do you feel, Cecilia? Do you want to give it a try?"
Lilian Rook     "Perhaps it isn't. Actually, I don't think it should be at all." Cecilia replies sheepishly. "But even so, the fact that people have suffered for it, I think, demands a certain level of respect and seriousness for being given the privilege. Isn't that alright? To acknowledge how unfair it is, and to treat it with the appropriate gravitas?" Cecilia laughs, as close to awkward as she ever gets. "I never did anything like that with the expectation of being taken along, you know. The essence of this sort of thing is to accept that if you've done it well, that little girl will go far away from you one day, and all you can do is hope she'll come back home every now and again. But if that's her wish too, then I shan't be so difficult. Ahaha."

    And for a moment, Cecilia is rendered breathless. And for a moment, Cecilia has words and shapes to put to the murkiest of thoughts and subtlest of feelings. And for a moment, what Cecilia thinks is . . .

    I wish I could be there for her for a long long time. No matter what happens, she needs her to be me. So I'd like to be as much of myself as I can.
    And more than that, I wish that I could do more than only be a shoulder to return to. The world is far too big and far too cruel for just one girl. She shouldn't have to carry it all. I wish I could reach her, help her, in the ways that all women should help their . . .

    Cecilia blink-gasps and releases Persephone's hands. "A-ahaha. M-my my. Maybe once we've wound down for the night, n-no? That was all quite overwhelming for a woman of my age, haha. I need to focus on the day!" Fretting a little bit, Cecilia then decides that one very firm hug is appropriate. "And . . . thank you very much, Miss Kore."